Zama
"His war has brought the land to the brink of destruction. But by not taking Pride Rock during the greatest crisis of our time, he failed to deliver the final decisive blow." -Simba talking about Zama 'Zama '''is a lion who is the leader of the Savage Prides and the father of Africanus and Scipia. He is the main antagonist in ''The Lion King III: The Great Kings. Physical Attributes Zama is a dark brown colored lion, similar to Scar. He easily rivals Simba's strength and size due to his sheer size. He possesses the same scar on his left eye, the same one on Kovu and Scar. But when Simba refused to give Zama a battle, his prides were left to rot in the Outlands and Zama fell prey to disease. His scar became infected and soon his left eye was ravaged. His mane is the same color as his father's, but it is as thick as Simba's. Personality As a cub, Zama is brotherly to both Simba and Nala. He watches over them like an older sibling and does his best to protect them. But Zama then comes to regret his past after the death of Scar. Banished along with Zira and the Outsiders, Zama spends several years in exile until running away in fear that Kovu will attempt to kill him for the right as Scar's heir.﻿ He was found nearly exhausted by the Savage Prides, 3 prides of murderous lions and lionesses. It is here that Zama learns that the Outsiders are not the only ones loyal to Scar and the two cubs he helped raised (Simba and Nala) will become his future enemies. Motivated by his superior numbers, his ambitions, and his hatred, Zama leads the Savage Prides in another war to avenge Scar and become king. In the story, Zama is shown to be violent, ruthless, and paranoid. His paranoia stands out especially when he abuses his own son and daughter should they question him. Zama's brutality is matched by his impatience. Before the final battle, Simba refuses to fight against the Savage Prides. So, in a final attempt to force the Pridelanders into battle, Zama resorts to killing Kovu and throwing his body before Simba's entire pride. Humiliated, deeply hurt, and deprived of his heir, Simba finally decided to confront the Savage Prides the next day. Information Zama is the son of Scar. He is the mate to an unknown lioness and the father of Africanus and Scipia. The Lion King III: The Great Kings Cub Zama Zama is seen as a cub during a dream he had. He recalls the days when he was the "older sibling" of Simba and Nala. He was tasked by Mufasa and Zazu to watch them and keep them safe. But he was lured away from his duties by hunting Timon and Pumbaa, leading him away from Pride Rock and near the Outlands. He suddenly realized that it was evening and ran back to Pride Rock, only to see Mufasa and Zazu walking Simba and Nala home. He overhears the conversation between father and son and becomes ashamed of his failure. Zama runs towards the Outlands in fear the next day. He finds it empty (the hyenas have accompanied Scar to take over Pride Rock) and resides here. Adult Zama "We wander this land at will. We destroy whatever force they sent against us. We defeated them in battle 3 TIMES!"" -Zama after nearly obliterating the Pridelanders in battle Zama reappears as an adult when Simba returns with Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa to the Pridelands in order to restore it from Scar's tyranny. After defeating Scar, Simba and Nala become the king and queen of the Pridelands and an era of peace began. But to keep the peace, Simba banishes a pride led by Zira, who remained loyal to Scar after his death. He keeps his identity as Scar's son a secret from the Outsiders and lives among them for several more years. By the time Kovu was of age, once again, fear drove Zama to flee from the Outlands should Zira know that Zama will threaten her plan and infect Kovu's reign. He is found nearly exhausted by the Savage Prides, 3 prides of exiles. They at first thought he was a Pridelander and proceeded to finish him off, but a lioness deemed him to be Scar's son. The Savages know this from the scar in his left eye. They brought him to a nearby oasis and there he recovered. Zama learns about the history of the Savage Prides, their loyalty to Scar, and their hatred towards the Pridelands. They told him that Scar was to rid them of the wrongs done to them by Mufasa. Now that Scar is dead, the Savages feel that now, only a true son of Scar can finish what was started. They rejected Zira's claim that Kovu is Scar's hand-chosen heir. Zama was at first reluctant to "destroy what he had created." It was because of him that Simba and Nala now rule the Pridelands. But the Savages somehow convinced him that he has been tasked by Mufasa to raise his future enemies. After a short while, Zama's regret towards his past turned into hate. He stayed with the Savage Prides and became their king. He was married to the queen and a son and a daughter, named Ishida and Scipia, respectively. Zama was not the king yet, but remained where he was for many years until finally receiving word that Zira is dead and the Outsiders were received back into the Pridelands by Simba. And with his wife dead, Zama assumed full control of the prides. To fulfill the queen's dying wish, he states that they must take the fight to the Pridelands. He rallies them saying, "And on Simba's own soil, I will defeat him!" With this type of leadership and determination, Zama leads the Savages on a ravenous march across the wide deserts. The heat is intense and the food is scarce, but their hate towards their enemies drove them forward. They silently enter the Outlands, which has been left vacant after Zira's death. There they stood poise to crush Simba's kingdom. As Kovu continues to court Kiara and teach her to hunt, a large group of While Simba and his kingdom discuss the matter, Zama leads his Savages in a battle against the pride of Tresimene, a powerful ally to the Pridelands. Catching them in an ambush, Zama's forces trampled down the pride, resulting in a decisive victory. Zama's first triumph on Pridelander soil sealed his alliance with the prides outside of Simba's kingdom. Simba was devastated upon hearing the news of losing his most powerful ally, but above all, the fact that he is losing his other allies to Zama. Realizing that Zama can soon strike the Pridelands at full force, Simba contemplates on negotiating for peace. But Vitani, in favor of engaging the Savages, leads the Outsiders and forces an ally of Zama to fight. The battle resulted with a victory for the Outsiders, but it only shocks the Savage Prides into action. Zama sends an envoy before the council of Simba and demands that they turn Vitani over to Zama and to face "true justice." But the Pridelanders are not threatened and the envoy forces them to choose either peace or war. Trebia, one of Simba's loyal officials, states that the decision is not their's to make. The envoy was then provoked to declare war on Zama's behalf. Simba, outraged at Vitani's actions, orders her to be confined within Pride Rock. The next day, Trebia addresses the council that the best way to fight Zama is not to fight him at all. He points out that the Savage Prides can be easily divided by starvation and "to kick his army in the stomach." Despite facing the consequences, Vitani was not restrained from council affairs. She calls Trebia's strategy "the tactics of cowards, not warriors." But the council strongly agrees with "the Trebian strategy" and the Pridelanders refused to give Zama a battle. Within Zama's camp in the Outlands, hunger and disease ate through his large army. Zama himself fell prey to disease (his scar became infected). He became furious that Simba is trying to outfight him by refusing to give battle. Scipia states that a hungry army is a weak army and Africanus tries to urge his father to find a way to draw the Pridelanders in for an attack. But Zama decides that he does not need a battlefield to defeat Simba and resorts to burning the savanna down in order to test the kingdom's security, demoralize them, and to further isolate the kingdom.﻿ In Pride Rock, Vitani states in front of her supporters that the Trebian strategy is making them look weak to the kingdom's friends and allies. Vandicar, Trebia's political rival in the council, remarks that "the way of Trebia will not be the way of Pride Rock for much longer."